HS 

2227 

B63C36 


CHAPMAN 


ORAnOM 


A 

As 

^^S  c: 

A       ^= 

A  = 

CO 

0  = 

0  m 

__^  J. 

^^■^  m 
=^  3D 

0  m 

^^=  33 

3  = 

=^=  O 

9  g 

^^=  ^ 

2  i 

33 

7  = 

-  ■< 

3  = 

=  > 

2  1 

— t 

4    — 

n 


The  Library 
University  of  California,  Los  Angeles 


The  gift  of  Mrs.  Cummings,  1 963 


// 


^»)<0  R  ^TT  lO  NH4* 

Rev.  Dr.  E.  M.  CHAPMAN, 

Of  Dallas  Lodge  No.  197,  I.  O.  B.  B. 

(DIP  lD.^X^X^Ji^S,   TESSI^fL-S- 

Rev.  SAM'L  ULLMAN, 

Of  Birmingham  Lodge  No.  368,  I.  O.  B.  B. 

OF  BIRMINGHAM    ALABAMA. 

Delivered  at  Temple  Emanuel, 

During    the  Convention  of 

<^^ Ea  (Bo  M.  Ma ^^ 

Held    in    Binningham,    Ala, 

•^»: 


1^-92. 
Levy  IJi'CS.  &.  Simou,  90  Common  St.,  N,  O. 


^ 


:2^^j:i  I 


f 


Delivered  at  Temple  Emanu-El,  Birmingham,  Ala. 

Before  the  District  Grand    Lodge  No.  7,  I.  O.  B.  B. 

e,-7t :B-2- ^B^^ 

I^ev.  E.  ]VI.  eii£P]^£J\[,  Ph.  D. 

"The  B'Nai  Brith;    Its    Mission    and    the  Necessity 
for    its    P2xistence     and    Perpetuity." 

Ill  every  age,  man  has  associated  with  his  fellow  mau,  aud 
history  is  well  stored  with  instances  of  vast  combinations  of 
men  formed  for  various  purposes  aud  demonstrating  the  tre- 
mendous power  of  combined  and  associated  action,  for  good 
or  for  evil,  as  the  case  may  be.  This  principal  in  the  past, 
however,  has  been  applied  mainly  to  the  business  of  war,  and 
the  most  mighty  associations  of  earth  have  been  found  in  the 
tented  field,  where 

"Banner,  spear  and  plume 
Lead  but  to  conquest  and  the  tomb." 
Great  armies  have  flocked  around  the  standard  of  war,  aud 
so  complete  and  perfe(^t  was  their  organization  that  every 
nerve  of  ihe  gigantic  body  was  at  the  command  of  a  single 
mind,  ready  to  do  or  dare  or  die  at  its  bidding.  And  thus, 
moved  by  a  single  impulse,  the  loug,  mail-clad  hosts  have 
gone  out  to  engage  in  the  shock  of  battle  and  cut  each  other 
down,  as  grass  is  cut  down  by  ttie  scythe  of  the  mower.  Uni- 
ted was  their  purpose,  ardent  their  zeal  and  mightj  their 
power.  But  it  was  devoted,  for  the  most  part,  to  evil  ends — 
to  strengthening  the  foundations  of  despotism  and  enabling 
op[)ression  to  place  its  iron  heel  upon  the  necks  of  the  people. 
The  toil  and  treasure  and  life  thus  wasted,  would  have  bridg- 


21 17678 


ed  every  river  ami  drained  every  swamp  and  cleared  every 
forest  and  made  every  inch  of  (lod's  earth  fertile  as  Eden, 
aud  have  <;iven  the  light  of  knowledge  to  every  child  that 
looks  upou  the  sun.  But,  as  it  was,  it  accomplished  little  or 
nothing  for  our  race,  except  this  one  thing,  to  demonstrate 
the  power  of  associated  action,  and  thus  indicate  the  means 
by  which  Israel's  earthly  redem])tiou  is  to  be  wrought  out. 
Thus  ranch  of  the  past.  IJut  the  leading  feature  of  the  pres- 
ent is,  effort  to  concentrate  the  materials  of  human  society, 
to  mould  an<l  foini  the  otherwise  fragmentary  and  disjointed 
mass,  and  to  call  out  the  united  hosts  of  the  world  and  engage 
them,  not  in  the  strife  for  dominion  or  the  carnage  of  war, 
but  in  a  peaceful  struggle  for  God  and  for  humanity. 

Hence  the  various  societies  and  associations,  for  purposes 
of  benevolence,  that  so  honorably  mark  the  character  of  the 
present  age.  Hence  the  order,  the  beloved  Order  of  B'Nai 
Brith,  neither  last  nor  least  among  them  Foremost  among 
the  forward,  strong  and  vigorous  in  her  youth,  she  stands 
here  to-day,  her  temples,  consisting  of  orphan  asylums  and 
homes,  rising  in  every  part  of  our  vast  union,  and  th^ir  por 
tals  thronged  with  the  stranger,  the  sick,  the  poor,  the  widow 
and  the  fatherless,  who  coaie,  not  as  beggars  to  receive  the 
crumbs  that  fall  from  the  rich  niau'S  table,  but  as  welcome 
guests  and  as  their  inherent  right,  to  partake  of  the  feast 
which  she  has  so  bountifully  prepared. 

Associations  there  have  been  in  the  past — vast  and  power- 
ful associations,  and  they  have  wrought  mighty  power;  but 
wide  and  powerful  associations  for  ameliorating  the  condition 
of  our  race,  and  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering  and  misfortunes 
of  men, — these  are  of  the  present. 

For  this  reason  the  present  age  is  remarkable  as  it  is  hope- 
ful. On  the  one  hand,  combinations  for  good  are  arising; 
and  on  the  other  the  hoary  leagues  of  oppression  and  evil  are 
crumbling  and  tottering  to  tiieir  fall.  Never  since  the  sun 
shone  ui)0u  the  earth  has  there  been  a  i)eriod  so  auspicious 
to  the  philanthropist,  or  so  radiant  with  hope  for  man — never 
one,  in  wiiich  humanity  was  doing  and  accomplishing  so  much 
for  the  achievement  of  its  true  destiny    upon  the  earth.     The 


-3- 

deep  foundations  of  the  past  are  iiptiirued;  the  lethargy  of 
ages  ie  over,  aud  man  is  awake  and  alive  to  his  interests,  his 
power,  his  dignity  and  his  high  mission  in  the  world. 
Thrones,  where  strong  despotism  has  been  secure  for  ages, 
are  tottering,  and  alljover  the  civilized  world,  power  is  slowly 
but  surely  passing  from  the  few  to  the  many,  and  the  world 
has  learned  the  lesson  that  a  united  people  is  stronger  than 
any  throne.  Truths,  new  and  momentous,  flash  out  and  daz- 
zle the  eyes  of  the  world,  like  strange  meteors  in  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night.  Improvement  follows  improvement,  and 
discovery  treads  close  upon  the  heel  of  discovery,  until  the 
air,  the  earth  and  the  water,  the  steam  and  the  lighting 
itself,  are  under  our  control  and  made  the  ministers  of  our 
pleasure.  Nature,  in  her  mightiest  efforts,  has  reared  no 
mountain  so  high,  aor  fortified  it  with  granite  so  hard,  that 
man  will  not  tunnel  at  its  base,  and  speed  through  its  dark 
caverns  with  his  iron  steed,  while  he,  himself,  sits  at  his  ease 
upon  soft  cushions  of  silk  and  velvet.  Old  ocean  heaves  no 
wave  so  high  that  man  will  not  mount  and  ride  it  witli  safety; 
nor  blows  there  a  wind  so  fierce  that  the  wingless  bark  will 
not  cut  its  way  through  its  very  teeth.  Earth  itself  has  no 
corner  so  dark  and  distant,  that  human  thoughts  and  human 
words  may  not  be  sent  there,  with  a  speed  almost  surpassing 
the  flight  of  time  itself.  And  to  what  end  are  all  these 
mighty  forces  employed?  Not  mainly  to  purposes  of  war  aud 
the  dominion  of  the  few  over  the  many;  not  to  build  up  high 
and  impassable  walls  betweeu  man  and  his  fellow-man,  but 
to  break  down  every  barrier  and  remove  every  obstacle  to  a 
fall  and  free  aud  instant  intercourse,  on  terms  of  friendship 
aud  amity,  and  for  the  mutual  good  of  mankind.  Truly, 
then,  it  is  an  age  as  remarkable  as  it  is  hojieful.  It  is  an  age 
to  be  remembered — an  age  that  will  stamp  itself  upon  the 
the  future— au  age  of  wonders,  to  work  revolutions  for  good 
in  states  and  empires,  in  arts  aud  sciences,  and  in  all  that 
concerns  the  interests  of  our  great  race  such  as  no  former 
age  has  seen, — no  dream  of  the  past  imagined. 

True  enough,  there  are  deep   shades   and    somber  shadows 
that  yet  linger    upon    the  earth.    They  are  not  all  calm  and 


—4- 

traiiquil  waters,   nor  sen^iie  biiglit  skies,  over  which  and  un- 
der which,  man  must  niaki'   his    way  onward  and  ui)ward  in 
his  career  of  destiny.     The  nations  have  not  yet  learned  that 
their  interests  antl  prosi)erity  and  all  that  can   exalt    and  en- 
noble the  human  family  ami  shed   luster  upon  the    pages  of 
this  world's    history   are   to    be   found   in  civil  and  religious 
liberty,   in    the   i>aths — the   peaceful  paths— of  benevolence, 
brotherly  love  and  harmony.     Hence  the  strife   and   the  con- 
tention, th<'  cruelty    and   the  oppression   that  still   prevail. 
Hence,  too,  man  is  often  the  enemy  of  man.    The  bargainings 
of  avarice,  the  vaultings  of  ambition,  the  contests  of  political 
parties,  the  prejudices  and   the   bigotry  of  sects  and  denom 
inations,  the  rivalries  and   competitions  of  business  and  the 
endless  graspings  for  honor  and  ollice,— all  these  are  at  work 
and  doing  much  to  retard  the  progress   of  the    good   and  the 
true  and  to  make  life  fitful  and  feverish.     So,  also,  the   spirit 
of  war  prevails,    and   unto  this   day,    with  the  exception  of 
grand  old  England  and   mighty   America,— God   bless  them 
both— the  sword  is  the  arbiter  among  nations.      But  there  is 
hope  in  the  fact    that    there  is  effort— widespread    and  suc- 
cessful effort— for  human  improvement,  such   as  no  other  age 
has  witnessed.     Armies  there  are  indeed  whose  business  it  is 
to  light,  to  kill  and  destroy.      But    other  armies  there    are, 
whose  mission  is  one  of  peace  and  good  will,  and  whose  work 
it  is  to  bind  up  the  wounds  of  humanity,    and   this   is  one  of 
the  missions  of  B'Nai  Brith.      Mighty    are  the  the  armies  of 
the  nations;  millions  upon   millions    are   armed  for  the  fight, 
for  the  bloody  field  of  battle;  the  hosts   of  war  are  many;  but 
they  are  overshadowed    and   outnumbered   by   the  legions  of 
those,  whose  mimes  are  enrolled  in  the  vast  combinations  for 
purposes  ot  benevolence  and  charity.      Nevertheless,  it  must 
be  conceded  that  there  are   tendencies    to  evil   and  to  decay 
that    call    loudly    for   vigilance  on   our  part  and  demand  a 
strong  baud  and  a  no  less  strong  conservative   power   to  pro- 
tect  us  from  foes  both     without   and   within.      That  power  is 
everywhere  and  always,  no  more  nor  less  than   the  great  law 
of  human  lirotherhood,  and  in  the   practical   infusion    of  this 
law  into  the  organic  structure  of  our  order    resides  the  secret 


of  success  aud  perpetuity.  Without  it,  the  i)roudest  fabrics 
of  earth  will  fall;  with  it,  the  most  incousiderable  will  stand 
while  the  world  standeth.  The  Order  of  B'Nai  Brith  is  built 
upon  this  law,  and  hence  the  conservative  i)ower  that  it  is  de- 
signed to  exert  upon  our  social  and  political  status.  Con- 
sider, for  a  moment,  some  ot  the  leatures  and  tendencies  of 
the  times  tending  to  a  disruption  ol  the  ties  that  bind  us  in 
one  body  and  demanding  the  influence  of  some  conservative 
power  to  save  us  from  evils  of  immense  magnitude. 

There  is  all  abroad,  in  this  country  especially,  a  most  tre- 
raeudous  intellectual  activity  and  excitability  which  jjushes 
to  every  extreme  and  results  in  all  sorts  of  extravagancies 
and  ultraisms.  The  blood  of  young  America  is  hot,  and  it 
takes  but  little  to  make  it  boil.  A.  small  spark  will  kindle  a 
mighty  flame.  Knowledge  is  no  longer  confined  to  the  clois- 
ter of  the  monk  or  the  cell  of  the  recluse,  nor  is  it  all  pent  up 
in  schools  and  colleges.  But  it  is  in  the  workshops  of  the 
mechanic,  the  counting  room  of  the  merchant,  the  marts  of 
trade  aud  commerce  and  the  fields  of  labor  and  industry. 
Everywhere,  thought  is  busy  and  this  intellectual  activity  and 
excitability  are  rife.  As  the  eagle,  long  caged,  when  let 
loose,  will  use  his  pinions  to  the  utmost  tension  of  every  mus- 
cle and  sinew,  now  soaring  aloft  above  the  highest  peaks  of 
the  mountains,  and  now  darting,  with  incredible  velocity, 
down  their  rugged  sides;  so  the  human  intellect,  long  cramp- 
ed and  fettered,  but  now  free,  tasks  itself  to  the  full  measure 
of  its  strength  and  riots  in  all  the  luxury  of  its  newly  discov- 
ered liberty.  Flushed  with  success,  elated  with  victories 
already  achieved  and  ardent  with  hope,  it  cannot  wait  for  the 
slow  process  of  nature,  but  would  compass  its  ends  at  once 
and  accomplish  the  work  of  centuries  in  a  year.  Moderate, 
patient  and  persistent  effort  will  not  do;  but  we  must  fulfill, 
in  a  somewhat  questionable  manner,  the  injunction,  "What- 
soever thy  hand  lindeth  to  do,  do  it  with  all  thy  might."  If 
the  yellow  ore  gleams  from  the  interstices  of  the  rocks,  or 
glistens  in  the  sands  ot  some  far  off  country,  forth  rush  the 
armies  of  Mammon,  eager  with  excitement,  and  each  man  in 
hot  haste  to  be  first  at  the  "diggings."  They  traverse  the 
wilderness,  and  leave  their  bones  bleaching  upon  the  plains, 


—  0— 

and  still  the  living  tide  rolLs  on,  trampling  in  thoughtless 
eagerness  iqion  the  skeletons  of  their  predecessors.  They 
vault  across  the  isthmus  with  a  bound,  and  double  the  cape 
with  a  whirl  that  makes  the  head  dizzy.  Splendid  steam- 
ships, with  their  furnaces  glowing  with  vehement  heat,  and 
crazy  hulks,  with  masts  and  spars  bending  and  creaking 
under  the  last  inch  of  canvas,  are  seen  ploughing  their  way, 
head  onward,  for  the  land  of  gold;  and  if  one  founders  and 
the  other  explodes,  the  excited  passengers  would,  if  they 
could,  mount  a  dolphin  or  a  whale,  and  ride  to  the  newly  dis" 
covered  Clolconda.  And  so,  the  merchant  at  home  cannot 
wait  to  get  rich  in  a  safe  and  legitimate  way,  for  he  wants  to 
be  rich  in  a  day.  He  plunges  into  hazanlous  and  uncertain 
speculations,  makes  a  fortune  one  week  and  loses  it  the  next, 
and  lives  in  such  a  perpetual  fever  that  he  becomes  old  in  his 
youth;  and  as  one  fails,  another  rushes  into  the  same  seething 
cauldron  ot  excitement,  to  be  dashed  by  the  bubbling  waters, 
sometimes  at  the  top  and  sometimes  at  the  bottom,  so  that 
none  can  tell  from  the  position  of  this  day  what  will  be  to- 
morrow. In  fact,  everything  goes  by  steam  in  these  days  of 
railroads  and  lightning  communication,  and  that,  too,  upon 
the  high-pressure  principle.  Two  hundred  pounds  to  the 
inch  is  the  lowest  mark  of  the  safety  valve.  Every  man  who 
travels  takes  the  lightning  line.  If  the  cars  run  off  the  track, 
or  there  comes  a  collision  of  opposing  trams,  the  excited  pas- 
senger extricates  himself  as  best  he  may  from  the  fragments, 
ties  up  a  bruised  or  broken  limb  with  his  pocket-handkerchief, 
takes  passage  with  the  next  Jehu  that  comes  along,  "leaving 
the  dead  to  bury  the  dead;"  and  so  eager  is  he  to  be  at  the 
journey's  end,  that  if  you  were  to  put  him  astride  a  chain  of 
lightning,  he  would  call  for  whip  and  spur  to  goad  the  lag- 
gard element  to  greater  speed. 

It  cannot  be  expected  that  a  people,  thus  excitable  and  ex- 
cited, will  be  content  with  calm,  moderate  and  rational  views 
in  their  social  and  political  relations,  or  that  they  will  be 
strongly  conservative  or  always  mindful  of  the  great  law  of 
hunuin  brotherhood.  The  result  is,  a  numerous  brood  of  ex- 
tremes and  ullraisms. 


The  partisan  in  politics  is  ever  ready,  to  use  a  common 
phrase,  to  "pitch  in"  and  go  his  length  for  his  party;  the  de- 
votee ol  sect  pushes  his  zeal  to  the  extreme  of  bigotry.  The 
one  imagines  that  all  true  patriotism  is  garnered  up  in  his 
party,  and  the  other  is  (juite  certain  that  all  genuine  virtue 
and  religion  are  centered  in  his  particular  sect.  Each  man 
has  his  hobby,  and  he  rides  it  at  Gilpin  speed,  and  in  his 
haste,  forgets  that  others  are  his  brethren.  And  thus  strand 
after  strand  in  the  chain  of  brotherhood  is  sundered.  Men 
become  isolated  and  estranged  from  one  another  and  the 
bond  of  our  social  and  religious  union  is  loosened.  What  is 
necessary  to  counteract  these  impending  evils  is,  a  social 
structure  that  shall  assert  and  maintain  the  great  law  ot 
brotherhood  as  the  law  that  underlines  and  terminates  all 
other  laws,  and  overlooking  the  distinctions  of  nations  and 
parties,  shall  bind  them  all  in  one  bond  of  union  and  bid  them 
labor  together  for  the  communal  good  and  for  the  good  of  all. 
This  conservative  power  resides  permanently  and  pre-emi- 
nently in  the  order  of  B'Nai  I3rith. 

It  is  a  practical  application  of  that  broad  and  comprehen- 
sive philosoi>hy,  that  mighty  system  of  social  architecture 
which  contemplates  our  entire  race  as  a  band  of  brothers  and 
gathers  them  together  in  bands  where  that  relationship  must 
be  acknowledged  and  practiced.  It  teaches  that  humanity — 
not  democratic  or  republican  humanity,  nor  reform  or  ortho- 
dox humanity — but  man's  humanity  t:o  man  it  is,  that  we 
should  love  and  serve. 

How  earnestly  this  philosophy  is  taught  in  all  the  ritual 
of  the  order,  and  how  securely  its  doors  are  barred  against 
the  entrance  of  the  narrow  or  unbrotherly  spirit  that  exists 
outside  the  lodge-room,  you,  my  brethren,  know  full  well. 
"Be  a  blessing  to  mankind,"  is  the  phrase  that  greets  the 
initiate  almost  on  the  threshold  of  the  lodge-room;  'be  a 
blessing  to  mankind,"  is  almot-t  the  last  injunction  given  him 
as  he  takes  upon  himself  the  holy  mission  incubeut  upon  him 
as  a  "Ben  Brith." 

On  the  broad  platform  of  humanity  we  meet  and  mingle  in 
social  intercourse;  together,  we  sit  down   by  the   bedside  of 


— S— 

the  sick  and  sootlu'  hi«  acliiu}^  head,  wlieii  disease  sliakes  the 
stalwart  iraine  and  IIk-  iiies  oflile  burn  low:  together,  we  fol- 
low him  to  the  narrow  house  and  lay  him  gently  in  the  bosom 
of  his  old  mother  earth,  when  death  has  done  its  work;  to- 
gether, we  drop  a  tear  at  his  grave,  as  we  leave  him  there 
with  God,  where  all  must  shortly  be;  together,  we  go  to  his 
deserted  hearthstone,  to  shed  the  tears  of  sympathy  and 
earthly  hope  ui»<)n  the  dark  night  of  a  widow's  w^oe,  whose 
idol  is  shattered  and  dead;  and  then,  together,  we  take  the 
tender  lambs  ol'  his  Hock  in  our  arms,  to  shield  them  from 
danger  and  protect  them  from  harm. 

"Our  beloved  order  has  taken  upon  itself  the  mission  of 
uniting  Israelites  in  the  work  of  promoting  their  highest  in- 
terests and  those  of  humanity;  of  developing,  elevating  and 
defending  the  mental  and  moral  character  of  our  race:  of  in- 
culcating the  purest  princij^es  of  [»liilanthropy,  honor  and 
patriotism;  of  supi)orting  science  and  art;  of  alleviating  the 
wants  of  the  poor  and  needy;  visiting  and  attending  the  sick; 
providing  for,  protecting  and  assisting  the  widow  and  or- 
phan, on  the  broadest,  princii)les  of  humanity."  Such  is  the 
grandeur  of  the  order  and  such  its  application  to  the  law  of 
human  biotherhood.  It  knows  no  north,  no  south,  no  east, 
no  we^t,  but  one  c<»untry,  one  common  humanity,  one  God 
and  one  brotlierhood  of  man. 

March  on,  then,  brethren,  and  .•-ee  to  it   that    you  taint  not 
nor  glow  weary  in  our  great  and  blessed  work. 

"Aye,  nerve  thy  spirit  to  the  proof. 
And  blench  not  at   thy   chosen  lot, 

The  riiuid  good  may  stand  aloof, 

The  sage  may    I'rown — yet    faint  thou  not, 

Nor  heed  the  shaft,  too  surely  cast, 
The  hissing,  stinging   bolt  of  scorn, 

For  with  thy  side  shall  dwell,  at  last. 
The  victory  of  endurance   born." 


r5-V(32>  eS\     Sfr      -S=Z±? 


:^ElS©ft.Y 


• — (?. 


^ 


DELIVERED  AT  TEMPLE  EMANU-EL,  BIRMINGHAM,  ALA. 
Before  the  District  Grand    Lodge  No.  7,  L  O.  B.  B. 


-^"2"- 


Rev.  SAM'L  ULLMAN, 

OF    BIRMINGHAM,    ALA. 

uRevelatious  from  Nature,"  evidencing  the  existence  of  God, 
perfect  m  unity,  harmonious  in  design  and  beneflcient  n.  pur- 

^'Tiom     the    beginning     of    time    no    thought    has     en^ 
gaged  the  mind  of  man  more  than  that  of  God,  or  this,  the 
thought  which   accounts  for  the  existence  of  a  creator.    It 
will  Dot  be  questioned  that  the  time  never  was    since  the  ex- 
istence of  man,   in  which  there   was  not  a  belief  in   the  exist- 
ence of  a  being  who  was  or  is  greater  than  man     There  nev^' 
was  a  time  when  man  doubted  that  cause  preceded  effect  and 
tha^.  effect  was  the  result  of  cause;    hence,  from  the  earliest 
days  of  history,  the   race  has  always  postulated  something 
that  was  more  powerful,  more  mighty  than  man.     Starting  at 
the  cradle  of  history  we  find  man  in  possession  of  a  be  lef  in 
the  existence  of  a  being  who  was  the  cause  of  a  1  things 
which  being  so  much  more  powerful  than  himself  he  adored 
and  worshipped  in  order  to  obtain  the  fulfillment  of  his  desires. 
The  panorama  of  nature  as  it  unfolded  itself  to  man  with  its 
varying  scenes,  the  seeming  conflict  of  elements,  the  resistless 
wind,  the  rushing  torrents,  the  raging  fire,  in  all  these  he  saw 
something  which  he  was  powerless  to  cootrol;  he  could  not 
account  for  the  power  of  a  thing  that  he  could  feel  but  could 
not  see,  that  lulled  him  to  rest  and  peace  in  one  moment  and 
in  the  next  drove  him  to  dispair  and  destruction       He  couki 
,  uot  perceive  how  it  was  that  the  sparkling  fiuid  spinning  its 
silvery  thread   along    and   down   the  hillside,    in   which  he 


—10- 

<iueiicbc(l  liis  thirst  autl  bathed  his  heated  brow,  couUl  iu  the 
uext  iiioineutbeso  iiowerlul  as  to  wrench  the  grauite  rock  lioui 
its  base,  uor  couhl  he  lathoiu  the  mystery  of  that  elemeut,  which 
now  in  affectionate  warmth  drove  and  dispelled  the  chilly  air 
and  in  the  next  attained  its  greatest  and  most  terrific  power 
when  tVd  by  that  force  that  he  could  hear  and  feel,  but  yet 
not  see.  When  all  these  conHicting  powers  were  being 
brought  to  his  mental  vision  he  was  unable  to  account  for 
them,  hence  each  of  them  had  to  be  assigned  to  a  power  that 
was  still  more  powerful;  thus  nature  which  gave  man  the  first 
impressions  as  to  the  existence  of  some  mighty  power  greater 
than  that  possessed  by  man,  also  supplied  the  source  from 
which  llowtd  the  belief  of  a  plurality  of  gods.  This  belief 
under  the  existing  state  of  ignorance  during  the  infancy  of 
the  race,  was  perhaps  most  natural,  and  it  required  a  consid- 
erable degree  of  mental  growth  to  appreciate  the  absurdities 
that  must  result  therefrom.  The  conflict  that  must  arise  in 
such  a  system  is  apparent;  of  it  was  born  the  idea  of  one  first 
cause,  one  Creator,  one  God  . 

The  impression  or  concei)tion  of  God  thus  gained  is  only  the 
beginning  There  are  now  reciuired  the  inductions  of  reason 
from  the  facts  iu  the  universe,  in  order  to  clothe  the  great 
first  cause  with  all  the  attributes  essenti;il  to  the  uncreated, 
eternal,  alhvise,  infinite  aud  immaterial  (iod.  i^s  such,  God 
is  the  father  of  all,  none  sharing  with  him  his  power,  or  au- 
thority; as  su(5h,  God  must,  control  the  destiny  of  the  human 
race.  This  conception  of  the  eternal  being  we  call  God,  is  the 
contribution  made  by  the  Jew  to  humanity  at  large;  for  this 
comu'ption,  fortius  priii(;i]>al,  for  this  ideal,  he  has  fought, 
bled  and  died.  To  peipetuiite  this,  he  measured  his  strength 
with  Assyria,  Babylon,  Greece  and  Rome,  and  though  be 
was  compelled  to  surrender  his  country,  his  home,  in  these 
contests,  yet  in  so  doing,  the  living  principles  of  his  belief 
survived,  which  he,  in  his  (lisper.-ion,  bestowed  upon  all  with 
whom  became  iu  contact;  and  whenever  the  justice  of  God 
is  called  into  (|uestion  because  of  the  suffering  and  martyrdom 
which  the  .lew  has  sustaiiieil,  we  answer  that  the  infinite  can 
not  be  grasped  by  the  finite,  or,  as  Moses  said,  "The  se(;ret 
things  belong  unto  the  eternal  our  God;  but   those  things 


-11- 

Whicb  are   revealed  belong  to   us  and  to  our  children  forever, 
tliat  we  may  do  all  the   words  of  the  law."    But  those   who 
questiou  the  justice  of  the  eternal,  those  who  question  his  ex 
isteuce  and  those  who  deny  his  existence,  will  not  accept  as 
proof  anything  that   may  be  accredited  as  being  inspired  by 
God  through  man;  hence  the  past  and  present  has  product d 
many  eminent  men  who  take  issue   with  us  upon  these  ques- 
tions; possibly   it  may  be  true  that  the   field  of  doubt  is  now 
occupied  by  a  larger  number  of  scholarly  men  than  ever  be- 
fore.    They  insist  that,  if  God  there  is,  he    must  be  found  in 
the  realms  of  nature,  rather  than  in  the  realms  of  revelation; 
in  reason,  and  not  in   inspiration.     To  them    we  say  that  the 
time  never  was  in   which  such  doubters  did  not  exist,   and  to 
them  we   say,  as  Job  said  to  his  friends:     "Ask   now   the 
beasts,  and  they  will  teach  thee;  and  of  the  fowls  of  the  heav- 
ens, and  they  will  show  thee.     Or  speak  to  the  earth  and  it 
will  teach  thee,  and  the   fishes  of  the  sea  will  tell   it  to  thee. 
Who  knoweth  not,  by  all  these,  that   the  hand  of  the  eternal 
has  done  this?     In   whose  hand   is  the  soul  of  all  Hving  and 
the  spirit  of  all  tieshf     Let  us  go  to  nature,  surely  the  natur- 
alist cannot   object,  and  in   her  realms   let  us   find   God,  the 
creator,  the  preserver  and  ruler  of  the  universe.     If  nature  is 
to  be  the  starting  point,  the  materialist,  the  agnot^tic,  must 
accept  Pope's  conclusion,  that 

" Spite  of  pride,  in  erring  reason's  spite, 

One  truth  is  clear — whatever  is,  is  right." 
This  well  known  and  ofc  recited  couplet  constitutes,  in  its 
spirit  and  meaning,  the  theme  on  which  I  shall  make  my  ob 
servatious  It  is  a  short  comment  on  what  has  been  well  de- 
nominated the  harmonies  of  nature — that  prevailing  aptitude 
between  the  variou-4  works  of  creation,  which  holds  them  in 
practical  accord  with  each  other.  It  is  not  necessary  to  state 
that  I  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  great  first  cause,  who  is 
eternal  in  being  and  infinite  in  wisdom,  goodness  and  jwwer. 
Nor  is  he  less  so  in  justice,  mercy  and  his  other  attributes. 
I  believe  him  to  be  the  creator  and  the  arranger  of  the  uni- 
verse. He  not  only  called  it  into  being;  he  placed  it  in  order 
and  laid  it  in  subjection  to  the  laws  which   govern  it  and  in 


—12— 

obedienc't'  to  those  laws  is  every  event  to  occur,  that  the  crea- 
tor is  eternal  in  existence:  that  he  is  anterior  to  all  other 
existences,  and  all  others  necessarily  ])rocee(l  from  him;  that 
the  creator  in  the  morning-  ol  creation  was,  as  he  is  now,  in 
finite  in  jj^oodness  an<l  i)nrity,  and  IVoni  a  ne<'.essity  arising" 
out  of  his  own  nature  he  wishes  lor  a  creation  free  from 
))lemish;  that  he  was,  as  he  is  now,  inlinite  in  knowledge  and 
wis(h)ni;  that  he  was  and  is  now  infinite  in  power,  and  that  Le 
was  compe'.ent  to  the  execution  of  his  design.  The  universe 
must  have  been  oiiginally  perfect,  each  part  ot  it  in  harmony 
with  every  part  and  obedient  to  the  whole. 

1  shall  now  present  a  briei  view  of  some  of  the  evidences 
pertinent  to  the  subject,  lu  this  part  of  my  task  1  encounter 
hut  one  obstacle,  and  that  is  that  the  testimony  which  ])re 
sents  itself  is  so  great  and  excellent  that  1  iind  it  extremely 
dillicult  to  select.  Kature  is  replete  with  it.  J-ook  around 
you  as  far  as  mortal  ken  can  reach,  or  the  closest  investiga- 
tion penetrate,  from  worlds  to  atoms,  and  nothing  is  discov- 
ered but  one  universal  scheme  of  aptitude;  the  more  we  ex- 
amine It  the  more  perfect  it  is  found  to  be,  and  the  deeper  is 
the  admiration  it  excites.  There  exists  nothing  inapi)ropriate 
to  the  place  it  occupies,  nor  can  any  change  be  ma<le  which 
would  not  be  for  the  worse.  Would  you  change  the  figures 
of  the  sun  and  planets  that  move  in  space?  Or  mould  them 
into  any  other  form  1  Then,  unless  a  corresponding  altera- 
tion be  made  in  their  economy  and  the  entire  system  to  which 
they  belong,  ruin  would  follow.  Elevate  plains  and  valleys, 
or  lower  hills  and  mountains;  reduce  the  surface  of  the  earth 
to  a  level,  and  it  would  become  unfit  for  the  sustenance  of 
the  living  beings,  both  vegetable  and  animal  that  now  inhabit 
it.  The  effect  of  a  radical  chauge  in  the  atmosphere  or  the 
ocean  would  be  the  same;  any  material  alteration  in  the  rela- 
tive extent  of  land  and  sea  would  derange  the  present  order 
of  things  and  call  for  new  ones.  All  this  is  so  self  evident 
that  it  would  be  taking  up  your  time  to  prove  it. 

In  tracing  the  scheme  of  adaptation  it  is  worthy  of  remark, 
that  the  more  essential  any  agent  is  to  the  eristence  and  wel- 
fare of  living  matter  the  more  extensive  is  its  prevalence, 
and  the  more  abundant  its  quantity.     This  is    especially  true 


of  air,  water  and  light.  There  is  reason  to  believe,  that  if 
any  of  these  elemeuta  were  absent,  living  existence  on  earth 
wouhl  cease;  they  are  therefore  obtainable  in  every  part  of 
the  globe.  This  is  also  true  as  to  color.  The  shades  that 
are  most  sahitary  and  pleasing-  are  blue  and  green;  heuce  the 
field  and  forests  are  green,  the  ocean  and  the  heavens  are 
blue,  render  them  white,  yellow  or  red,  or  give  them  any 
strong  and  glaring  color  and  they  will  injure  the  eyes, 
unless  they  are  also  changed  and  brought  into  harmony  with 
them.  This  statement  proves  itself  in  the  injury  done  to  the 
organ  of  vision  by  gazing  too  long  into  the  sun,  or  at  a  vol- 
cano during  an  intense  eruption,  and  by  the  light  reliecte<i 
from  plains  and  mountains  covered  with  snow. 

If  I  had  the  time  to  do  justice  to  the  subject  it  might  be 
both  pleasing  and  instructive  to  take  a  view  of  the  peculiar 
adaptation  of  all  vegetables  where  they  grow  in  a  native 
state.  This  constitutes  one  of  the  most  delightful  harmonies 
of  nature;  the  leading  points  are  soil,  climate,  humidity  and 
elevation  above  the  level  of  the  sea;  from  this  arises  the 
boundless  variety  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  every  peculiar 
track  of  country  producing  according  to  its  native  character; 
hence  could  the  whole  surface  of  the  earth  be  embraced  in  a 
single  view,  it  would  exhibit  a  magnificent  panorama  of  vege- 
table mosiac.  This  picture  so  beautiful  to  the  eye  of  taste 
would  be  more  so  to  the  philosophic  mind;  in  the  latter 
point  of  view,  its  beauty  would  consist  in  the  scheme  of  ap- 
titude indicate  d  by  it.  In  fact,  the  whole,  woidd  present  a 
picture  of  design  as  resistless  in  its  philosophy  as  it  would 
be  grand  in  its  outline  and  rich  in  its  coloring. 

If  we  turn  our  attention  to  the  animal  kingdom  and  inquire 
for  a  moment  into  the  character  and  condition  of  that  inter- 
esting department  of  nature,  we  will  find  nothing  but  order 
and  aptitude,  everything  precisely  as  our  reason  says  it 
should  be.  The  animal  kingdom  being  composed  of  many 
kinds,  the  remarks  made  on  the  vegetable  kingdom  apply  to 
this;  each  kind  inhabits  the  place  most  suitable  to  it,  and 
pursues  from  the  same  cause  the  mode  of  life  that  best  befits 
it.  Take  the-  three  great  sub-divisions  of  the  earth — land,  air 
and  water — each   peopled  with  distinct  animals,   and  among 


-14- 

eacli  there  exist  what  may  be  called  iuteriiudiate  races  as 
links  to  coni|)Iete  the  chain  of  being;  all  adopted  to  the  rela- 
tive elements  to  whi<!h  they  belong.  It  would  be  very  inter- 
esting to  take  up  each  division  and  discuss  the  respective 
characteristics  of  each,  but  it  would  lead  us  too  far. 

We  now  come  to  the  highest  form  of  animal  life — man.  Is 
anyone  inclined  to  admit  the  perfection  of  creation,  but  deny 
it,  as  it  relates  to  the  character  of  man,  he,  upon  whom  the 
Creator  has  bestowed  these  (lualities  that  enable  him  to  make 
the  material  world  subservient  to  his  uses;  to  do  so  would  im. 
l)ly  that  the  Creator  was  imperfect.  For  man,  as  everything 
in  animated  nature,  is  subject  to  those  Jaw8  that  govern 
nature.  Let  us  contemplate  man  briefly,  in  his  three-fold 
nature,  animal,  intellectual  and  moral.  His  animal  faculties 
relate  chiefly  to  his  personal  preservation  and  welfare,  among 
wliich  the  principal  ones  are  to  breathe,  to  eat  and  drink,  to 
exercise  and  sleep,  and  to  avoid  danger,  for  the  use  of  which 
faculties  there  is  ever  present  when  in  a  normal  condition,  a 
monitor  within  to  inform  him  when  either  is  essential  and  powers 
to  enable  him  to  enjoy  them.  As  head  of  the  animal  kingdom, 
man's  providence  is  to  rule;  to  this  end  his  corporeal,  mental 
and  moral  attributes  are  adopted;  these,  with  the  faculties  to 
see,  hear,  speak,  taste,  touch,  smell  and  think,  enable  him  to 
reach  the  highest  realms  of  intellect.  If  all  these  qualities 
presuppose  a  creator,  a  first  cause,  then  we  must  go  just  one 
step  further  and  recognize  a  first  cause  in  the  moral  world. 

My  views  of  the  entire  perfection  of  a  scheme  of  creation 
are  such  that  I  do  not  and  cannot  btlieve  in  the  existence  of 
positive  evil,  either  moral  or  physical.  In  common  with 
every  rational  being,  I  cannot  believe  in  accident  or  chance. 
All  events  are  the  result  of  principles  and  laws;  by  principles 
and  laws  I  mean  those  of  creation.  They  come  from  the 
Creator  only.  To  contend  that  they  come  from  any  other 
source  would  be  to  assert  the  existence  of  more  creators  and 
supremes  than  one;  for  to  establish  laws  and  principles  and 
render  theai  oj)erative  is  as  much  a  creative  work  as  to  pro- 
du(;e  matter.  No  one  will  allege  that  the  creator  or  Deity 
has  ever  founded  a  principle  or  law  of  abstract  evil.  I  mean 
a  law  of  princii>Ie  productive  of  evil  alone,  and  if  he  did  not 


—  15— 

no  other  being  could,  hence  it  does  not  exist.  All  natural 
laws  and  principles  tend  to  good.  Nor  is  it  possible  that 
they  produce  both  good  and  evil,  for  in  direct  opposition  to 
every  known  principle  and  fact,  it  would  mean  that  the  same 
cause  can  produce  uot  only  different  but  opposite  effects;  for 
positive  good  and  positive  evil  are  the  reverse  of  each  other. 
Thus  then  the  matter  seems  to  stand;  in  obedience  to  exist- 
ing laws  which  the  Creator  established,  every  event  tends  to 
the  production  of  ultimate  benefits;  what  we  call  evil  even- 
tually produces  good.  This  could  not  be  the  case,  were  good 
and  evil  the  reverse  of  each  other.  Oppobites  cannot 
stand  related  as  cause  and  effect.  Light  cannot  produce 
darkness  nor  cold  produce  heat. 

1  fear  that  there  is  a  possibility  of  being  misuudertotood  to 
say  that  there  is  no  evil.  Tbere  is  something  so  called  evil; 
it  is  the  perversion  of  good,  it  must  exist,  in  order  that  our 
moral  powers  may  be  exercised  upon  some  objects;  what  are 
these  objects?  I  answer,  our  vices,  our  propensities  to  vice 
or  our  misfortuues.  The  sole  end  of  our  moral  faculties  is  to 
check  vice,  or  to  counteract  in  some  way  what  we  call  evik 
Were  in  not  for  misfortune  or  want  of  some  sort,  on  what 
wculd  our  benevolence  be  exercised?  Indeed,  without 
something  to  excite  it  to  action,  it  would  be  a  superfluous  at- 
tribute, an  endowment  without  an  end  to  render  it  useful. 
Extinguish  misfortune  and  want,  trials  and  sorrows,  and  you 
stop  the  foundation  of  V)enev^olence  and  friendship,  or  rob 
human  nature  of  the  beauty  and  luster  of  some  of  its  bright- 
est moral  jewels.  If  there  were  no  propensity  in  man  to  do 
wron^',  what  would  become  of  the  faculty  of  consciousness  or 
a  sense  of  justice;  the  very  existence  of  the  sense  of  justice 
implies  existence  of  a  contrary  principal.  Of  firmness  or  for- 
titude the  same  may  be  said,  misfortune  alone  can  give  it  ex- 
ercise. Bodily  pain,  the  loss  of  friends  or  wealth,  deprivation 
disgrace  or  calamity,  or  distress  is  essential  to  the  develope 
ment  of  these  attributes.  Of  the  feeling  of  piety  the  same  is 
true;  that  calami  y  has  a  tendency  to  develope  it,  is  known  to 
every  observant  person;  hardened  to  all  moral  sentiment 
must  be  the  man  whose  sympathy  and  sense  of  piety  is  not 
aroused  when   sickness  and   death  snatch   some   loved   form 


—1(5- 

fiom  our  side,  and  wLilc  1  do  uo"  admire,  nor  coniinend  tlie 
relifjion  of  lea r,  I  do  say,  that  diliiculty  and  danger,  calamity 
and  death  strenjjthen  our  moral  sentiments  generally,  and 
among  them  that  ot  piety.  Thus  I  might  analyze  the  whole 
moral  character  of  man,  and  show  that  every  element  of  it 
has  a  positive  and  necessary  relation  to  vice,  mistortune  or 
some  form  of  snffeiing;  so  that  1  am  foiced  to  the  conclusioD 
that  a  world  without  vice,  sorrow^  and  misfortune  would  be  a 
world  without  virtue,  sympathy  and  benevolence. 

Not  if  all  these  elements  in  nature  in  the  animal  and  vege- 
table kingdom,  in  the  mental  and  moral  nature  of  man  all 
bes|)eak  an  allwise,  benehcieut  and  harmonious  design,  im- 
planting in  ihe  heart  of  man  these  moral  principles  which  iu 
their  exercise  call  forth  our  admiration,  veneration,  grateful- 
ness and  love,  how  can  we,  as  reasonable  beings,  deny  the 
creator,  the  designer,  the  deity  our  homage  and  worship? 
But  some  will  say  it  is  absurd  to  approach  our  maker  to  ask 
for  special  favors,  particularly  if  based  upon  selfishness.  I 
agree  in  this  conclusion,  for  in  my  creed,  my  philosO[)hy,  1 
cannot  have  or  conceive  a  si)ecial  providence.  Where  a  gen- 
eral i)rovidence  exists,  under  the  government  of  perfect  law, 
a  special  one  is  not  necessary,  is  in  fact  inadmissible,  for  I 
hold  iliat  llie  belief  iu  a  si)ecial  providence  presupposes  im- 
perfection iu  i  he  laws  aud  economy  of  creation.  Hence  our 
worship  of  lio<l  mu^t  spring  fiom  motives  of  gratefulness,  ad- 
miration and  \encration;  grateful  for  all  we  have  and  the 
p«)wer.s  we  possos,  which  enable  us  to  seek  and  obtain  the 
better  ailmiration  lor  the  perfect  scheme  visible  in  creation, 
and  veneration  lor  the  parental  characteristics  so  sell  evident 
in  his  general  )»rovidence. 

Watei-,  hie,  air,  plants,  animals  and  man,  and  in  short  all 
the  greiit  natural  forces,  through  all  their  i)roducts,  however 
many  and\aried,  compose  one  world .  Nay,  more;  science 
em|)hati<;ally  declares  that  all  worlds  compose  one  universe. 
All  arc  d- ])en(l('ui,  the  one  on  the  other:  all  inteiact  on  each 
othei ,  and  come  under  one  aud  the  same  series  of  physical 
sequences.  ^Ve  cannot,  therefore,  as  the  ])rescientific  ages 
did,  i>atcel  out  thenni\erse  amoug  a  multitude  ofdeitie-'. 
iScience  knows  no  pnuiheon.     There   must    be  one   dominant 


—17— 

and  supreme  power  which  rules  over  all.  And  this  power, 
which  sits  behind  the  laws  of  nature,  must  be  inconceivably 
great  and  wise.  If  it  were  not  wise  and  strong  beyond  our 
reach  of  thought,  the  universe,  instead  of  being  a  harmony 
of  invariable  sequences,  would  break  into  ruinous  confusion. 
What  then  shall  we  call  this  power  ?  We  call  it  God. 
Others  hiding  in  unmeaning  and  self-contradictory  phras 
es,  may  call  it  "the  stream  of  tendency"  ignoring  the  fountain 
from  which  the  stream  flows.  We  say,  that  law  implies 
a  law-giver,  that  power  implies  a  being  from  whom  it  proceeds, 
and  we  worship  him  under  the  name  of  God  as  the  sole  source 
of  the  forces  and  laws  of  nature.  1  shall  conclude  with  an  ex- 
tract from  Herbert  Spencer,  which  for  conciseness  and  per- 
fection of  thought,  is,  perhaps,  the  clearest  indorsement  of 
my  argument.  "Consciousness  of  an  inscrutable  power  mani 
fested  to  us  through  all  phenomena,  has  been  growing  ever 
clearer  and  must  eventually  be  freed  from  its  perfections. 
The  certainty  that  on  the  one  hand  such  a  power  exists,  while 
on  the  other  hand  its  nature  transcends  intuition  and  is  be- 
yond imagination,  is  the  certainty  toward  which  intelligence 
has  from  the  first  been  progressing.  To  this  conclusion 
science  inevitably  arrives  as  it  reaches  its  confines,  while  to 
this  conclusion  religion  is  irresistably  driven  by  criticism." 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORMA   LIHR ARV 
Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


% 


'^  2  0  1996 


Form  L9-Series  4939 


Vm.  OF  CALIF.  LlBRARY/WSl'l 


L  007  489  945  1 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILI' 


AA    000  392  732 


